Federal Pensions

Keith again is twisting the facts to prove his point. If he thinks that his pension is lavish, I would suggest that he turn most of it back.

There are several things he fails to mention. First, the average federal pension is less than $800 a month. That includes his in the computation. Therefore, there are many, many pensioners drawing much less than $800 per month.

Second, Keith obtained his pension, for most part, by serving only 14 years in the U.S. Congress. Most federal Civil Service pensions are earned after 30 to 40 years of loyal service. Congress has truly rewarded its own for minimal terms in the House of Representatives or the U.S. Senate.

Finally, the first group in the government who are affected by the Gramm-Rudman bill are the retirees and the current employees. Both have been denied a cost-of-living increase, which was to have been 3.1% on Jan. 1. This is hardly a generous and lavish increase, as implied by Keith.